Micro-living is therefore not a model of the future, but the present, Brown argues. “Limited water resources, deforestation, food shortages – all the challenges society faces today (due to climate change), Japan faced, and overcame, 200 years ago.”
Sarah Watson, deputy director of New York City’s Citizens Housing & Planning Council, which initiated the Making Room project, says the choice is simple. With more people moving into cities (two-thirds of the world’s population will be living in cities by 2050, the World Bank estimates), we can either build up, or design smarter. And those smart designs should also take into account that, statistically, more of us are either staying single, or becoming “suddenly solo”.
“People are getting married less, and divorced more. The idea (in some societies) of caring for an elderly relative is changing,” says Watson. It’s a social shift that’s happening not just in New York City but in places like Hong Kong and London, the council’s research found.
“Unless we keep building more and more vertically – which we could do, but communities aren’t fond of it – then we have to find new ways to increase the density inside of buildings. This is what micro-living can be.”
The Making Room message might well be that small living spaces are desirable. Indeed, says Watson, in feedback from 120,000 visitors to the exhibition, no one complained that the apartments felt cramped. Rather, “they were surprised how spacious it can feel if a space is small but designed well.”
Read the full article in South China Morning Post.